Once upon a time, in the small remote village of Fränsta in Northern Sweden,

lived a loving couple, Astrid and Rudolf Kastor.

Over the years, they tenderly built by a tranquil river a typical Swedish house with elegant proportions, classic timber frames, a gabled roof and a white porch.

In preparation for the arrival of their growing family, Astrid and Rudolf then decided to turn their house into the most comfortable and prettiest home and graced every room with marvellous wallpapers inspired by the beautiful surrounding vistas.

The Kastors all lived happily ever after until it was time one day for Astrid & Rudolf to meet their Maker…

A few decades and gravad lax later, Auntie, or rather Moster, Mai-Lis and granddaughter Nicole came to pay their last respects to the cherished family home before it too had to vanish. Memories of blissful family holidays started flooding in as they went from room to room and tried to capture for the last time that special smell houses have.

But as she turned away from the kitchen to leave the house for the last time, Nicole’s eyes were suddenly drawn to a corner of the room. She gazed at the crumbling paint and stained wallpaper and discovered, as she looked closely, that behind one of the strips of wallpaper was, to her great surprise, another layer of wallpaper, shyly hiding. She started to rip off the existing paper and a whole panel of old wallpaper revealed itself, before her very eyes, gasping for air and recognition.

“Moster, Moster”, screamed Nicole in awe, “I think I’ve discovered something special”. After quickly gathering her thoughts, the intrepid Nicole got on her feet and rushed to the other rooms in the house, gaily pealing away the wallpapers in the hope of finding other hidden treasures…

Forward a few months later and my friend Nicole De Young has given these almost forgotten wallpapers a new lease of life and launched a few months ago Astrid & Rudolf, her first collection inspired by the documents she found in her grandparents’ house.

The results are delightful. The charming designs, almost a century old, and the striking colour palette, taken from the flowers and berries of Northern Sweden, make Astrid & Rudolf very unique.

You can now meet Elisabet Stripe, Ellen and Selma at Redloh House – which I will be covering here very soon – and by taking these designs home with you, you will not only adorn your walls with exquisite wall decoration but also perpetuate the memory of ‘Astrid and Rudolf’.

Elisabet Stripe ELS01 Rosa

Elisabet Stripe ELS02 Guld

Elisabet Stripe ELS03 Lingon

Elisabet Stripe ELS04 Himmel Blå

Ellen ELN01 Björk

Ellen ELN02 Hjortron

Ellen ELN03 Hallon

Ellen ELN04 Gran

Selma SEL01 Sten

Selma SEL02 Mossa

Selma SEL03 Smultron

Selma SEL04 Blåklint

All characters appearing in this work are not fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is pure and accurate.

Citizens north of Hyde Park, or ‘Tyburians‘ should I say, like A-Gent of Style are spoilt for choice at this time of year. After our own street’s Connaught Street Summer festival followed by Marylebone Summer Fayre at the end of June, Portman Village will follow suit this evening from 5pm with their annual Summer Street in Seymour Place and New Quebec Street.

The famous and much-anticipated event will bring together the boutiques, salons, restaurants and pubs in the area to celebrate summer. This year’s Street Party pays tribute to Wimbledon Tennis and will see the street transformed with artificial grass, live entertainment, workshops, plenty of Pimms and of course, strawberries and cream. The event is open to the public and party goers will be able to indulge and experience all the shops have to offer, from delicious drinks and canapés, to beauty treatments and special offers from Portman Village’s boutiques.

All of Portman Village’s shops, restaurants and pubs, and some of my favourite local haunts like Donostia, Vinoteca, The Grazing Goat and the new Lockhart, will add their unique touch to the Street Party, whether that’s offering eyebrow threading and beauty treatments from salons such as iBrows etc and Beauty Rose, to face painting and DIY workshops from Homemade London. Buy my Wardrobe, the designer sale outlet, will be hosting their first ever clearance sale, so you can snap up designer fashion for less. And of course, A-Gent will pop in to Les Senteurs, his parfumerie of choice in London (Time to get a re-fill of Annick Goutal’s Eau du Sud).

In addition to local traders, a selection of top hotels in the area such as The Cumberland and Hyatt Regency London The Churchill also join in, with delicious tasters from their brasseries and bars. Live entertainment brings the street party to life and there is something for all ages and interests. Face-painting, Punch & Judy and special workshops for children will keep them occupied all day, whilst adults can enjoy the comedy theatre, jazz band on stilts and performances from Trio Manouche, one of the UK’s leading gypsy swing ensembles.

a family event in the afternoon with an old-fashioned village fête atmosphere, complete with dog classes, games, best dressed prizes and even a ‘petographer’ to capture your memories of the day.

and for the evening’s entertainment, a highly social event with colourful dog classes open to all who attend, a glamorous ‘Dogtail’ cocktail party and canapés and a show.

Designers (see the list below) have designed and are producing exclusive one-off dog beds to be won in the silent auction. Ranging from a French 18th C style palace to a leather style dog “sofa”, there will certainly be something for everyone! The beds are currently on display at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

Also, there will be a raffle in the evening, complete with fabulous prizes supplied by prestigious Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour designers, and win or lose, the first 200 participants will receive a beautiful leather keyring from the renowned luxury purveyor of leather goods store, Pickett.